D-Well done

Last month, Siddharta Agarwal was helping his father redesign his law firm office at Connaught Place in New Delhi.

The cumbersome thought of visiting one interior designer after another till he found the right design and package disillusioned the 28-year-old. However, he ended up doing just that without leaving the comfort of his home.

All Agarwal did was log on to www.dwll.in, a curated community of interior designers where users can submit information on their design projects and get design concepts from multiple designers.

Agarwal has now selected three prospective designers for the job. “Once I went to the website, I had to answer a detailed questionnaire, which is divided into four parts — personality, colour choices, space and preferences such as budget and design. From thereon, the website guys took care of things,” he says.

The brainchild of two graduates from the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, Pankaj Poddar, 33 and Parikshat Hemrajani, 31, Dwll.in was launched in March. “In India, if someone wants to do up his / her home, they hire a designer recommended by their friends and family,” Poddar tells us, adding, “we intend to change that.”

Finding a solution The idea took birth when Hemrajani’s living room was being designed and the designer left the project midway. “We realised that a lot of people face this kind of a situation. So, we thought, why not create a portal or space where prospective clients can come in touch with the designers. Be it a hospital, a restaurant, a bedroom or a museum, clients can handpick from over 40 designers. We play the role of mediators, collect all the information and oversee the completion of the project,” explains Poddar.

Pay in parts The payment process has also been made transparent with a three-part break up. “Designers are paid after completion of different stages of work. They make furniture layouts and mood boards and upload them on the site. Once a client approves the concept, the work starts,” says Poddar. Clients also do not have to run around to check up on the work, since we do that for them too,” he adds.

While most of the designers are based out of Mumbai and Delhi, customers based anywhere in India can actually seek the help of dwll.in’s designers for a fee, get a design they like and then ask a local interior designer to execute the plan.

Expert on board The site also has a curator in Delhi-based architect Madhavi Sagne. “Our industry is relatively unorganised. More often than not you hear of dissatisfied customers because they seldom get regular updates on the progress on the work. At Dwll.in, a client knows exactly what they are going to get, and will be informed at every stage about how the work progresses. Meanwhile, for designers, there is clarity on the budget, and the client cannot go back on their approvals. Work and effort are not going to go waste,” says Sagane. Lo on to dwll.in or call 9820523501 for more information